


colette's initiation

by SkyRose



Series: Ladies Bingo 2019 [6]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Fantasy, Fate & Destiny, Ficlet, Gen, Knights - Freeform, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-10
Updated: 2020-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:06:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23088259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkyRose/pseuds/SkyRose
Summary: Colette had been training for two long years for this moment.
Relationships: Original Female Character & Original Female Character
Series: Ladies Bingo 2019 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1564741
Kudos: 3
Collections: Ladies Bingo 2019, femslashficlets: tarot prompt challenge





	colette's initiation

**Author's Note:**

> I'm trying to get back into consistent writing so here's a ficlet from a fantasy world I'm building for a novel :P
> 
> Also a fill for ladiesbingo and femslashficlets

Colette had been training for two long years for this moment. The Empress of Bangan had accepted her into the elite knights of Bangan, a group made up of only the finest fighters from the many nearby kingdoms and villages. 

Colette’s brother, Marius, had joined the group a few years ago. She had decided to follow him to Bangan to train under him. Mother was displeased, as she so often was when Colette followed her older brother. 

Marius was thrilled. He kept her on a tough training regime. Her progress was quick compared to the others vying for a spot on Odina’s knights. Colette had been ready for months. All she had to do was wait for a member to retire. Or be killed, which she never prayed for.

On the day of her initiation, she awoke to rapid knocking on her door. When she opened it, she found the wide smiles of her fellow trainees. 

“What is it?” She asked, though she already had a feeling what the would say.

“Empress Odina has declared you to be the next knight!” one of them said, though Colette couldn’t be sure who. Excitement overtook her.

\---

Everyone wanted to speak with Colette leading up to her initiation that evening. She never had a moment to think, a moment to realize what was missing.

And once she figured it out, it was too late to do anything about it.

The initiation was held in the throne room. Only Odina and her knights were to be in attendance. When Colette entered, Odina was sat on her throne while her knights lined the walls. Colette stood proud as she walked towards Odina. She glanced at the knights, many of which she knew as they were friends of her brother—

Marius.

Colette hadn’t spoken with him all day. Had she even seen him? Her brown eyes searched the knights, looking for her tall brother and his orange curls. He always stuck out in a crowd and yet Colette could not find him. He wouldn’t miss this, he would never.

Colette stopped a few steps short of where she was meant to stand in front of Odina. “Where is my brother?” she asked, eyes wide and cautious.

Odina’s face softened. She was never stoic, so it hasn’t a startling display. It still put Colette on edge as she waited for an answer. “He didn’t tell you,” Odina stated.

“Huh?”

Odina frowned. “He resigned. He left Bangan last night.”

Colette didn’t understand. Marius had dreamed of being a knight even as a child. For him to throw away his spot, to even leave the land he had called home for years, it made no sense. Colette wanted to find him. She could see it her head, herself running out of the throne room and to the stables. In reality, her feet did not move.

She had worked too hard. She would find her brother, but it would have to wait. She would be a knight.

\---

Colette could not sleep that night. She had been moved into Marius’ former quarters. Everything was too familiar and yet not enough. 

She wandered the halls until she found a balcony. Colette was never one for the cold, but she found the chilly air to be a nice distraction. She looked up, a crescent moon shined down on her.

“You are troubled,” a gentle voice said.

Colette tensed as she recognized it was Odina. She turned. There were rumors that Odina did not sleep, her magic too restless. Odina was in simpler attire but still looked quite regal.

“I can assure you that Marius is okay,” Odina promised as she joined Colette on the balcony, resting a hand on Colette’s shoulder.

“He never once mentioned he wanted to leave,” Colette said. “I have to speak with him and yet no one seems to know where he’s run off to.”

“Your brother likes to travel. He likes new adventures and new people. He grew tired of his duties and decided it was time he left, and it was time you became a knight,” Odina explained. “At least, that’s what he told me.”

“Do you believe him?” Colette asked.

“Mostly,” she replied. “Although I have other suspicions. It is… strange that he did not tell you prior.”

Colette sighed. “I would have gone with him.”

“I’ve sent Una and Halton off to find him,” Odina admitted. “I cannot force him to return but… I would like to know where he is headed.”

Colette relaxed. “Thank you.”

“In the meantime,” Odina began. “I expect you to be a valuable new member of the knighthood. Do not let your brother’s mysterious nature take away from your accomplishment.”

Colette smiled, Odina’s hand was still on her shoulder. She suspected Odina was using magic, as she felt quite warm. “I will not disappoint you.”

“Of course not,” Odina replied. “Your spirit burns bright. It is warm and inviting, like a dear old friend. Not many souls are familiar to me and yet yours is.”

Colette knew the Empress had a habit of speaking metaphorically. She was less versed in such speech. “Is that a good thing?”

Odina nodded. “It means you will be a close friend, perhaps my most trusted knight. Or…”

Colette leaned in. “Or?”

“One of my worst enemies.”

Colette burst out an awkward laugh. She wouldn’t dare get on the wrong side of the Empress of Bangan. Few would. “I wouldn’t fear such a fate.”

“I fear no fate of myself,” Odina replied. “Only the fates of others.”

Colette bit her tongue to keep from asking for elaboration, luckily Odina provided it.

“I can change my own fate,” Odina began. “If I dislike what the stars show me, I can work to make sure it never comes true. But I can not force others to change, if what I see is dangerous or unsavory or… deadly…”

Colette looked up to the night sky. “I would trust you.”

“You say that now,” Odina whispered. 

They fell silent.


End file.
